UP farmers not against land acquisition but want better price

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's urbanisation plan is mostly associated with the Rs 70,000- crore Ganga Expressway between Ballia and Noida covering more than 12 districts and the Rs 9,700- crore Yamuna Expressway between Agra and New Delhi covering six districts.

The actual problem started when the government planned large-scale urbanisation along these two expressways, being developed by Jaypee Group. The land owners are mostly not against land acquisition, but are only demanding market price for their land, quotas in projects developed there and jobs.

The government has acquired over 7,200 acres in Agra, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Mahamaya Nagar and Gautam Buddha Nagar given to Jaypee Group to develop residential, commercial, industrial and institutional centres.

The farmers allege that the state government doesn't have a transparent policy for acquisition of fertile land.

Mayawati announced a new land acquisition policy on September 3, 2010 in the wake of stiff opposition from the farmers of Aligarh, Agra and Mathura over the issue.

But it didn't satisfy the farmers because they didn't see any genuine concern to rehabilitate them.

The chief minister announced an annuity of Rs 20,000 per acre for 33 years to the affected farmers whose fields have been acquired.

There is also a provision for increasing the annuity at a rate of Rs 600 per year. If a farmer doesn't want the annuity, then he/she will be paid Rs 2.4 lakh per hectare as one-time rehabilitation subsidy.

Besides, there would be 17.5 per cent reservation for the affected farmers if a housing project is being developed on their land.

However, the foremost demand of the farmers is that the government must not fix a rate for the land, but let them directly negotiate with the company.

Nutan Tewatia, wife of farmers' leader Manveer Tewatia, said, "A common demand of the farmers is that they should be allowed to bargain with the developer directly.

If the government is taking land from us at Rs 580 per square metre and giving it to the developers for anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000, obviously the farmers would feel cheated.

There are also a large number of farmers whose entire land has been acquired but the money paid cannot buy land of similar size elsewhere.

The land is our bread and butter and they want us to part with it. So we deserve better compensation."

Tewatia, who is absconding, has been leading the farmers' agitation at Bhatta-Parsaul in Greater Noida since January 17.

The state government has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head and Rs 15,000 each for four of his accomplices.

Taking a similar line, Manvendra Singh, a farmers' leader in Agra, said:

"The government had forced us to accept Rs 580 per square metre as compensation for our land but we want Rs 800 per square metre.

We also want 50 per cent reservation in all the projects that will be developed along the expressway.

This demand should be viewed sympathetically because the builders will gain more than Rs 9,000 per square metre of our land."